Otouto ga Hoshii
by HiiroKumo
Summary: Blueno had always wanted a younger sibling he could nurture and play with. So one day, with the powers of his newly attained Akuma no Mi, he decides to take it upon himself to care for the young boy.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I will never, ever, ever be able to own One Piece or Naruto.

Half of Konohagakure no Sato had been reduced to rubbles. A quarter was engulfed by the inferno. The rest was relatively unharmed. All the active and unhurt shinobi no matter the rank immediately worked on repairs.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, observed the aftermath of the rampage of a demon from his room, up in the Hokage tower. The Sandaime sighed. It saddened him to see the village which he had worked so hard with both the Senju brothers to build get decimated. The old man suffered from mild chakra exhaustion and had several cuts and bruises decorating his person.

"Sandaime-sama."

A trio of ANBU shunshin'd into the Hokage's room.

"Do you have him?"

An ANBU wearing a porcelain mask with a cat motif took a step towards the Sandaime, holding out a bundle of white cloth. The old man took the bundle from the ANBU and pulled back the cloth slowly; revealing a blonde babe, sound asleep. Sarutobi sighed softly when he saw the whisker marks on the baby's cheeks. 'Minato, you did it.'

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Hiruzen made his way to the balcony which overlooked Konoha. All the villagers and shinobi were already gathered before him. Sarutobi cleared his throat.<p>

"These past few days has been very hard for all of us. Quite a number of Konohagakure no Sato's residents did not manage to survive. Let us all have a moment of silence to pray for their souls."

The villagers assembled at the village square bowed their heads and clasped their hands together in silence.

"Finally, on the 10th of October, the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, managed to defeat the beast ravaging our homeland. The Yondaime vanquished the monster but at a price."

Sarutobi could hear the choked sobs and disbelief from the villagers and his fellow comrades.

"The Yellow Flash of Konoha gave up his life to protect the village he loved."

By now, the villagers, mostly the women and the small children that revered the Yondaime broke into tears and the night air was filled with anguished cries.

"However, let it be known that a demon the likes of the Kyuubi could never be destroyed. The Yondaime decided to seal the beast, and seal it he did, within this baby." Sarutobi Hiruzen lifted the sleeping babe from the folds of his Hokage robes high.

Sarutobi could empathise with the villagers. They were dog-tired and worn down from the demon's attack. Some were probably still in shock at the devastation the beast has done to the strongest shinobi village and all of them were sure to feel bitter resentment and hatred towards the beast for the taking the lives of those dear to them.

"Kill it!"

"It has the demon!"

"It's going to turn into the Kyuubi when it grows up."

"KILL THE BOY!"

"DESTROY THE DEMON!"

Sarutobi prickled in annoyance. Yes, he loved Konoha dearly, but he could not help dislike the shallow-minded villagers at times.

"Silence!" Sarutobi practically roared.

All the villagers immediately clamped their mouths shut.

"If the boy dies, the Kyuubi will once again ravage our lands. Surely you do not want the Yondaime's sacrifice to be in vain?" Sarutobi 's voice was laced with poison.

The villagers looked somewhat regretful of the things they said. With a sweep of his long Hokage robes, Sarutobi made his way back into the Hokage's room.

Out of the blue, smoke exploded in the Sandaime's face.

"Hokage-sama!"

Sarutobi shunshin'd to the other end of the room, wheezing and coughing. The boy in his arms started stirring lightly. Sarutobi heard several kunai whiz through the air, and he he threw a few kunai of his own with his free arm to counter the oncoming blades.

"Kai!"

The room was suddenly filled with blinding light. Sarutobi felt a person try to snatch the bundle in his arms away from him. The Sandaime drop-kicked the person while still holding the baby tightly. Said person avoided the kick and let loose a flurry of projectiles which cut through the stale and still smoky air. The Sandaime dived behind his large mahogany desk.

"Katon: Goukakyu!"

"Futon: Kuki no Dangan!"

The resulting fireball was roughly the size of a mammoth that narrowly missed Sarutobi who flattened himself to the wall to avoid the ball of fire. The person extinguished the enormous fireball with a flick of his hand with which several tons of water gushed out from his sleeve and immediately put out the fire. The Hokage's room was thick with steam.

'There!'

With the baby in his left hand, Sarutobi blocked the jab with his right. The transgressor made a sweep for Sarutobi's legs but the Sandaime managed to flip over the offending limb and stabbed at it with a kunai hidden in his robe sleeves. The figure gasped with pain, betraying his position from within the thick steam.

"Mokuton: Shichuro!"

Timber appeared from nowhere forming a wooden prison in the perpetrator's general direction. Neko threw in a sleeping gas bomb that guarantees a 12-hour knock-out into the wooden prison as a safety measure.

The baby in the Sandaime's arms chose that moment to open his eyes and wail as loud as his tiny little lungs allowed him to. Sarutobi exhaled slowly, rocking the baby and trying very hard to put him to sleep.

"Hokage-sama! Are you alright?"

Sarutobi's most trusted trio of ANBU came into view, dropping low on their knees. Sarutobi grunted, trying his best to forget the pain threatening his consciousness. 'The Professor', albeit being old and aged, is still as tough as ever. But having just fought off a demon, witnessing uncountable deaths of many a beloved comrade and using whatever was left to protect the only heir of his predecessor is sure to take quite a toll on the old man. Sarutobi just almost fainted but was steadied by ANBU Tora. Sarutobi sighed, exhausted.

"Let us return to the Hokage Mansion."

Sarutobi held out the fidgeting bundle in his arms to a surprised Neko. With the support of Tora, the group of four, minus the baby, made their way to the Hokage Mansion in the dead of the night.

* * *

><p>"Ne, oyaji, what are you going to name the boy?"<p>

Sarutobi Asuma, who recently returned from protecting the Hi no Kuni's Daimyo, peered at the dozing baby in the cot. Like his old man, Asuma was swathed in bandages, proof of having battled the Kyuubi.

"His name is Namikaze Naruto."

Asuma's cigarette dropped out of his mouth.

"Na-Namikaze?"

Sarutobi nodded.

"The Yondaime had a kid?"

Asuma's eyes widened to incredible proportions.

"With Kushina."

"W-with the Bloody Habanero?"

The Sandaime nodded once again and smiled wistfully. He could still remember the Yondaime's laughable attempts to woo the spunky redhead.

"Ma, the 'Yellow Flash' never ceases to amaze me."

Sarutobi Hiruzen simply smiled.

"Why fishcake?"

Asuma's question broke the momentary silence. Sarutobi shook his head sagely.

"Whirlpool. Kushina wanted something to remind her of her old village."

_Flashback_

The sun was just setting, basking the whole of Konoha in an orange and pink glow.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Sarutobi Biwako sat side by side opposite the table to the Yondaime, Namikaze Minato, who held his wife, Uzumaki Kushina, lovingly in his arms.

'Sandaime-sama, Naruto will grow into a fine shinobi.' Minato smiled as he leaned down to peck Kushina's bulging tummy.

_End flashback_

Asuma smiled.

"Leave it to the number one ramen worshipper to name her son after one of ramen's ingredients and a whirlpool. Heh. Ja, oyaji, I'm off to bed."

The already bandaged, healed and currently recuperating Sarutobi Hiruzen 'hm'ed to show his acknowledgement of his son's leave. Tired out from the recent events, the old man slowly closed his eyes.

Now, the Hokage residence is guarded and patrolled twenty-four-seven by highly-skilled ANBU Special Black Ops including the Hokage's own personal trio of ANBU. There were also Inuzuka dogs in every corner of the mansion. But let it be said, it is impossible to create a perfectly impenetrable fortress. What more if it were to be infiltrated from the inside.

ANBU Washi, second in command to Neko-taichou of ANBU Squad One. Standing at the height of six foot three, Washi is a broad-shouldered and firmly muscled man. Well known for his skills in stealth and deception and has aptly earned the epithet 'The Misleading Shadow'. Unfortunately, Washi believes in sacrificing whatever is best for Konoha's good. His belief has led the man to ally himself with one of Sarutobi Hiruzen's former teammates, Shimura Danzo. A shady character who possesses the same ideals, Danzo has set up an organization which carries out whatever is believed to be the best for Konoha according to Danzo's orders, ROOT. And Washi is one of them.

As it is, Danzo has somehow acquired knowledge of Konoha's new jinchuuriki and Danzo wants the jinchuuriki for himself so he could somehow train and manipulate the weapon of mass destruction which would certainly be a boon to ROOT's firepower. Therefore, it is up to Washi to kidnap the baby that night to be brought back to Danzo. And kidnap the baby he did for nobody suspected anything of ANBU Squad One's second-in-command. In a few minutes, the baby was once again safely entangled between the blankets in a dark underground lair where if you strain your ears properly, you could probably hear Danzo himself, cackle with mad delight at the many plans he has come up with for the unfortunate boy.

* * *

><p>It was still early in the morning. Daybreak was still quite a long way to go, but Sarutobi Hiruzen is already sitting up ramrod straight on his bed, cold sweat trickling down his back. Sarutobi Hiruzen practically ran to the room the boy was placed in which was on the ground floor. He burst through the double doors and true to his instincts, the cot was empty.<p>

Sarutobi Hiruzen bit back his rage.

"Neko! Tora! Washi!"

The very walls of the sturdy Hokage mansion shook.

"Hokage-sama, ANBU Neko reporting."

"Hokage-sama, ANBU Tora reporting."

Imagine the ANBU's and the Hokage's expressions when the third member of Squad One did not appear. The Sandaime punched the wall, leaving a small crater the size of his fist.

"Hunt him down. Hunt him down to the last wormhole. I care not for your methods, I want the baby back in my hands, safe and sound, before the day ends. GO!"

Neko and Tora disappeared in a blink of an eye. Sarutobi punched another hole through the wall, not caring his knuckles were bleeding slightly.

* * *

><p>Eight years later after the rampage of the Nine-Tailed Demon, eight years after the kidnapping of the Yondaime's only heir, still Sarutobi Hiruzen and his remaining two most trusted ANBU have yet to give up looking for any signs of the blond boy.<p>

Unbeknownst to the Sandaime or anybody else for that matter, save Shimura Danzo and his ROOT goons, young Namikaze Naruto was working his ass off training with his wakizashi deep within the headquarters of ROOT which is exactly beneath the Hokage Mountain.

"Naruto." From the shadows, young Naruto could hear one of Danzo's personal bodyguard call for him. The boy immediately resheathed his wakizashi and headed for Danzo's office.

"Danzo-sama." Naruto genuflected before the old man. Danzo nodded ever-so-slightly. The monotonous voice unbefitting of a boy at the tender age of eight came from behind the blank mask. It wasn't like Danzo actually cared for such trivial things. Fitting or not, Naruto was but a tool.

One of Danzo's personal bodyguard, probably the one that summoned him, threw Naruto a scroll which the boy deftly caught.

"Retrieve a scroll from an informative in Iwa no Kuni. Meet up with informative at exactly 0600 hours tomorrow morning. More mission details can be found in the scroll you are holding. Failure of mission will result in dire consequences. Dismiss and carry out mission immediately."

"Hai." The boy disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

"Naruto's status report."

"Namikaze Naruto, eight-years-old, mid-chuunin level in kenjutsu, low-jounin level in both ninjutsu and taijutsu, is not able to produce a single genjutsu but can access one tail of Kyuubi's powers. The side effect resulting in him being inactive for half a day after using the one tail cloak."

Once again, Danzo entertained his fantasies of becoming the Hokage with such a powerful weapon by his side.

* * *

><p>Naruto kept on leaping from branch to branch as fast as he could. It was supposed to be a simple mission! Get to the hidden ROOT bunk which was nearby the destroyed Kannabi bridge, meet the informative, grab the scroll and go back. Apparently, Fate probably doesn't want Naruto to a job well done on this mission. It was his first solo mission! Stupid rogue nin just had to fuck it all up!<p>

The small boy leapt from tree to tree with all his might. He definitely did not want to end up as appetizers to those bloodthirsty lugs.

"GET THE GAKI!"

"DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE!"

A group of six or so shabbily dressed nukenins were fervently chasing the blond.

"Doton: Doro Bakudan!"

Several mudballs came flying through the air towards Naruto which upon contact, exploded. Blown by the blast to a branch further ahead, Naruto kept on running through the trees, never once breaking his pace eventhough his body was riddled with lacerations, burns and bruises.

"Kage Bunshin!"

Two exact replicas of Naruto appeared and rushed towards the rogue nins to distract them long enough for the original Naruto to escape.

"Bunshin Daibakuha!"

Both clones exploded, creating a blast big enough to bring down a large branch from one of the many trees, almost but failing to crush any of the nins. One of the rogue shinobi raced in front of the rest to attack Naruto.

"Kaze Kaminoikari!"

Naruto turned just in time to parry the strike aimed at his head. Charging his wakizashi with wind chakra, he slashed at the rogue nin's torso, the lengthened blade ripping through the fabric covering the man's abdomen and drawing Naruto's first blood.

"Raiton: Kaminari Shuriken!"

Jump, dodge, roll. The barrage of lightning shuriken managed to graze the boy slightly, adding to his already long list of injuries. Suddenly, explosive tags attached to kunai rained upon him from every direction. Naruto barely managed to Kawarimi with a fallen branch. His left shoulder stung badly, more crimson liquid staining his ROOT uniform.

"Katon: Gokakyu!"

"Suiton: Teppoudama!"

Naruto's fireball sizzled out, nto strong enough to withstand the water bullet.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin!"

All over the clearing, identical versions of Naruto engaged the six enemy nins in a battle of taijutsu was what he planned but apparently these shinobi were a bit stronger than they seemed as they slaughtered a few hundred kage bunshins within the first few moments with visible ease. This was not supposed to happen!

Naruto felt hesitant, Danzo-sama told him to only use it if he ever got caught in a situation where he couldn't win. But for the greater good of Konoha, Naruto was willing to lay down his very life!

Naruto shut off the sounds of metal clashing against metal, the sounds of his clones being deactivated, one by one. He concentrated on his chakra, the blue, viscous matter running through him. He pictured them red instead. Red boiling anger.

Naruto opened his eyes and they were not the brilliant blue they were before. His eyes appeared to be red and slanted. The eyes of a ravenous fox out for blood. His fangs were elongated and a snarl escaped his lips. His nails were twice longer and twice sharper than his normally short and neatly trimmed nails.

Naruto jumped into the middle of the battlefield. His nails ripping shreds from whoever was unfortunate enough to be within his attacking range at that point of time. The blond let out a bloodcurdling roar and tore the rogue nins a new one.

Knee to head, elbow to groin, foot to face, knuckle through chest, nails through throat. Even when all the nins were on the ground, no longer breathing, Naruto did not stop his frenzy. The clearing was nothing more than a wasteland by the time Naruto finally ran out of juice. Blood and gore were spattered all over, several trees had been felled and even rocks were shattered.

**"Nice work, gaki."**

Naruto did not notice the ominous voice. He was already face first on the ground in a dead faint, blind to the world for the next 12 hours.

* * *

><p>All seven CP9 members were crowded in Blueno's room. Spandam has found another Akuma no Mi and Master decided to bestow it to Blueno. Master warned Blueno of how it tastes like so Blueno decided to have a big glass of water ready. Fukurou and Kumadori were looking at him expectantly. Jyabura smirked, having already experienced the sensations of eating an Akuma no Mi firsthand. Lucci was playing with Hattori in the far corner of Blueno's room. Kalifa and Kaku were the last ones to enter the room.<p>

Blueno took a deep breath. He took a small bite and chewed the piece slowly, thoroughly before running the whole thing down with a big glass of water. Blueno paled and spat out whatever was left on his taste buds.

"Grow up Blueno, chapapa."

"It tasted like crap."

"What did you get?"

"Yoyoi, any changes?"

Fukurou and Kumadori checked him all over while Jyabura poked him in the side, with the hopes of activating the fruit's powers. Kaku, Kalifa and Lucci stared at the quartet from afar. Blueno slid off the bar stool and steadied himself in attack stance.

"Ha!"

Instead of the stool splintering into millions of tiny pieces, a round shaped hole the size of his fist appeared on the stool.

"Ara?"

Kaku came up to Blueno's side.

"What is it?"

Blueno squinted his eyes, trying to look into the hole.

"Empty."

"Put your hand through it, chapapa."

"Yoyoi, it might disappear forever."

Blueno closed his eyes tightly and reluctantly put his finger through the mysterious hole.

"So?"

Blueno cracked one eye open and started prodding around the hole.

"I think it's a pocket dimension."

"You got the Doa Doa no Mi then?" Kalifa enquired, pushing her glasses further up her nose.

"Probably."

"Make a door then, chapapa."

"Where?"

"Through the wall."

Rob Lucci pointed at the nearest wall. Blueno went towards it and pressed himself to the aforementioned wall. A Blueno-shaped door appeared. Blueno went through the wall and came out in the hallways. Fukurou, Kumadori and Jyabura went through the wall followed by Kaku and kalifa and lastly Lucci who seemed thoroughly bored.

"Cool." Kaku grinned.

"Now that the excitement has worn off, let us continue training." Kalifa steered Kaku to the training grounds. Lucci, unsurprisingly, was already gone.

"See you later, Blueno, chapapa."

"Ja, Blueno, I'm off to catch a few winks."

Kumadori went back into Blueno's room. Blueno followed him in, one eyebrow raised. Kumadori jumped onto Blueno's bed, one hand slipping under the bed to uncover a magazine. A porn magazine. Kumadori had always known about Blueno's secret stash. He rolled around on the bed, probably not going to leave the room any time soon. Blueno sighed.

Blueno left the room through the Blueno-shaped door and climbed the stairs to the roof. It was nice to be here especially when the sun was just about to set and the gentle breeze cooled down the surroundings.

Suddenly, an idea struck him.

Blueno drew a hole large enough for him to fit through in the air. He inhaled deeply, calmed himself down, convinced himself that what he was doing was a rational decision and jumped through the hole.

* * *

><p>Blueno stepped out of the pocket dimension and into a forest. Well, what used to be a part of lush green forest has been decimated to a barren wasteland with bodies strewn all over the ground and the coppery, tangy smell of blood permeating the stale air.<p>

Blueno took a step closer to the bodies. Most of them had holes of varying sizes riddling their person. One of the bodies lost half its limbs and another one had apparently been decapacitated. Rocks and trees alike had been balsted, burned and smashed to smithereens.

Blueno chanced upon a blond boy lying face first on the ground. What was a boy his age doing on a battlefield? Probably got caught in one of the blasts. Blueno prodded the boy with a stick. Still breathing. No gaping holes as far as he could see. Plenty of bruises and cuts and burn marks on his small body though. Probably around seven or so.

Blueno had always wanted a younger brother to run around with, to play with, the others were either too serious or simply did not agree with Blueno's idea of fun. But what would Master say? Would he throw the boy out in the cold rain? No, Master was a very understanding person. But it would probably be best if he asked for permission first. Yeah, Master would definitely let him have his very own little brother.

Blueno made his decision. He is definitely taking the boy back.

Suddenly, it struck him. What had killed the six men? What kind of being had decimated the forest to such an extent? Blueno shuddered. He sincerely hope that he will not be meeting that being, be it man or creature, anytime soon, or later for that matter.

Picking the boy up very, very gingerly, Blueno slowly made his way to the Blueno-shaped hole and after stepping into the pocket dimension, resealed the hole, forever preventing any hopes of ever returning to that dimension.

A/N: Read and review. If you want to know what any of the japanese words mean, mention it in your reviews. I'll gladly give you the translations.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Sadly for me, I will never be able to own either series.

Naruto could feel the soft pillow beneath his aching head and the warm, thick comforter on his person with an equally comfortable mattress unlike the mattresses he was used to.

'Where am I?'

From behind his still shut eyelids, Naruto could make out bright lights and big, fuzzy blobs moving around. He could also smell delicate perfume, a female surely, and a sort of wet, damp smell. Sweat? A man. Obviously a man. Naruto also detected the sterile and clinical smell of a hospital- it's probably the Infirmary. They're most likely new. He wasn't familiar with their scents.

Wait, the Infirmary? How did he get into the Infirmary? Did he fail his first solo mission?

The last thing he could remember was him being hunted down by nukenins and then the epic battle between him and the rogue shinobi. He was forced to use the Kyuubi and he-

Why is his face being scrubbed by a wet piece of cloth? Where the bloody hell is his mask?

Immediately Naruto's eyes snapped open and he slapped away the hand that was manhandling him. Naruto's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

Where the fuck is he? This is definitely not the ROOT infirmary.

Had he been kidnapped by enemy nin? But he wasn't tied up. Now that he noticed, both the strangers didn't have any chakra. A slim, blond woman dressed in a skimpy and impractical dress and a bulky man with hair the shape of a bull clad in black. The lady was probably in her late teens and the bull guy was most likely around early twenties.

Naruto flipped from his bed and landed on all fours beside it. He reached into his weapons pouch to take out- wait, his pouch is missing! His ninja-to and his armor too!

Naruto felt naked without his weapons, not that he is. At least these people didn't remove his uniform.

"Get back in bed!" The lady reached for him. Naruto jumped out of the way. "You are still not fully healed yet!"

"Good to see you awake." The bull-headed man had a deep and calming voice.

"Who are you?"

Civilians or not, surely they knew more of his surroundings. He needed information.

"I beg your pardon?"

* * *

><p>"Who are you?"<p>

The boy was surprisingly stable for someone who has been out of commission for half a day. He should still be wobbly and partly woozy from drugs at least. He had quite a list of injuries. Minor they may be, surely it took quite a toll on a measly eight-year-old's body. Heck, even Blueno himself would've had passed out for more than one day at least.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Who are you and what do you want from me?"

Wow, he thought he imagined it. An absolutely monotonous voice, devoid of any form of emotion. The voice did not belong on an eight-year-old boy. Even Lucci is capable of portraying emotions. Anger, mostly. Irritation and impatience at times. But never as heartless as the boy. He was just a boy, for goodness sake!

"Answer me."

Kalifa looked at him apprehensively.

Ah, shit. It's up to him then. 'I'm starting to regret my decision.'

"I'm Blueno and she's Kalifa. What do we want from you? Thing is, gaki, I found you decorated with bruises flat on the ground, right next to a battlefield. So I did the rational thing. I took you home with me, kid."

"Where am I?"

"Well, our island doesn't exactly have a name."

"Nami no Kuni?"

"Nami no Kuni? Never heard of that place. Sorry kid, we're in the Grand Line."

Kalifa cleared her throat, glaring at Blueno pointedly. She nudged him in the ribs, none too gently. Blueno rolled his eyes.

"Fine, fine. Truth is, I was just testing out my Akuma no Mi and accidentally came upon the door leading to your dimension. So yeah, in other words, you're in another dimension."

The shock was apparent on the boy's face. He seemed to ponder about Blueno's words for a little while before shaking his head to himself, discreetly. Maybe he was wondering about the Akuma no Mi. Surely such a thing did not exist in other dimensions.

Once again, Kalifa cleared her throat to catch the boy's attention.

"Since Blueno has told you our names, we would very much like to know yours."

"Classified."

Blueno and Kalifa's eyes widened slightly. Classified?

"None of you have clearance to access ANBU information."

ANBU? What is the blond gaki talking about? Some kind of secret organization? But he's way too young to be in one. True, all the members of CP9 were trained since kids but they only started missions in their late teens. Yet again, Rob Lucci is an exception to that rule. Damn that prodigy. But this kid is only eight! At least five years younger than Rob Lucci when he made his first kill. Fine, fine. His first massacre.

Kalifa's left eye was twitching slightly.

"Look kid, all we want to know is your name. You're going to be living with us from now on. At least tell us your name so we know what to call you."

"Like I've said before, that information is classified."

"Listen gaki, there is no way you are getting back to your dimension. Not now, not ever. So just give us your name. We won't bother you about your past."

"Classified."

The air suddenly became thick with tension. The boy eyed both of them warily.

In a split second, Kalifa was on the boy, twisting his arms and grinding his face into the dirt.

"Kalifa, let go of the boy." Blueno sighed with exasperation.

"Hell no. From the sound of it, the brat is not much different from us. The only difference is him being more used to pain at a much younger age. He was about to attack us, I know it."

Blueno sighed. 'And here I was hoping for a docile and obedient little brother. This gaki is anything but docile and obedient.'

Without warning, the boy's unpinned legs kicked Kalifa, hard, in the sides. Kalifa gasped and accidentally released her hold on Naruto.

The boy twisted his body and jumped up to his feet. His hands flew through multiple formations.

"Kaze no Yaiba!"

Blueno and Kalifa leaped sideways to avoid direct contact with whatever attack the boy was about to throw. Even though they were away from the line of fire, they could still feel invisible swords cutting through their clothes and skin, drawing blood. Shallow wounds were forming everywhere on their bodies.

"Rankyaku!"

The boy cartwheeled out of the way.

"Konoha Senpuu!"

"Tekkai!"

Blueno held out his own against the little guy's whirlwind of an attack. He countered the kick with a sharp uppercut which the boy managed to deflect.

"Kage Bunshin!"

Five identical clones of the boy appeared, all of them dogpiling Blueno. The real blond brat was engaging Kalifa in a deadly dance of punches and kicks.

"Katon: Goukakyuu!"

Kalifa tumbled out of the way, shy of a few seconds before the massive fireball fried her. Unfortunately for her, her skirt caught on fire and she only managed to extinguish it by rolling several times on the ground.

"Raaah!"

Blueno push off the clones and deliver a solid blow to each and every one of them, which poofed into smoke.

"Shigan!"

Kalifa managed to graze the boy's shoulder even though he dodged.

'So fast. He is probably as fast as Kaku.'

"Soru!"

Blueno was able to get within the boy's guard and kick him square in the abdomen.

For once, the boy didn't dodge. Scratch that, he wasn't able to. But the boy was somehow hanging off Blueno's leg.

If the atmosphere wasn't so serious, Kalifa would've had found the situation hilarious.

Blueno gaped at the boy. Okay, the boy was up and fighting both him and Kalifa tooth and nail just a few moments ago, it's logical for him to be really tired and worn out after just recovering. But this is ridiculous!

"Little gaki must be exhausted."

"No. You might have had knocked him out."

Blueno shrugged.

"Just get him back in bed. We'll bring in the rest of CP9 when he wakes up."

"Yeah. Might as well."

* * *

><p>Ugh. That kick hurt, like hell. The wound on his shoulder still stung, though the Kyuubi would most likely have had that all healed up. Speaking of which, how has the Kyuubi been doing lately? It's been quite a long time since he conversed with the fuzzball.<p>

Naruto sighed.

They must have had drugged him. His eyelids felt like they were glued together and his whole body felt like lead.

'Another dimension, huh? I'm pretty sure I've never heard of the Grand Line and the Akuma no Mi that bull guy mentioned though.'

He felt so tired. He couldn't even be bothered to open his eyes.

He wondered how things are back in Konoha. ROOT would probably be running along just fine, even without him. Ah, what rotten luck. To get stuck in another dimension without any knowledge of his surroundings? That's the first thing ROOT operatives were told not to do. Not the dimension part, the going-into-unfamiliar-territories-without-information part. Still, it's relatively the same.

His hypersensitive ears picked up five different sets of footsteps making their way to the infirmary.

"Gyaaaaahaha! Blueno, seriously, you have to think things thoroughly next time before making rash decision! I mean, look what happened!"

"YOYOI! Jyabura is right! To have beeeeeen beaten by a small child, how disgraceful for a CP9 member, YOYOI!"

"Chapapa, you guys look fine. The kid couldn't have been too much for you guys."

"A younger brother? That would be fun."

"Hn."

"Go in and see for yourself."

Everything went quiet for a moment. Naruto wanted to take a peek, he didn't like not knowing what's happening, but he decided it was too risky.

"I can't believe it, chapapa."

"What?"

"His Douriki."

"Haa? What's with his Douriki?"

"It's, well, very high, chapapa."

Douriki? What the hell's Douriki?

"How high?"

It went really quiet then. Naruto was sure he would have heard a pin drop a mile away.

"Tell me Fukurou, how high?"

"A-as high as Kaku's, chapapa."

"At that age? Impossible, YOYOI!"

"The boy is from another dimension. I doubt he even has any Douriki."

"Roughly translated, Douriki would be a measure of one's powers, chapapa."

"The boy's Douriki is as high as Kaku's?"

"Y-yeah, chapapa."

"Lucci, what are you doing?"

"Rob Lucci, step away from the bed."

Naruto could feel this 'Rob Lucci' coming towards the bed.

"I'm warning you."

Naruto jumped out of the way, bandages and all, just in time to avoid Lucci's knuckle that punctured the mattress.

"What the hell, you bloody bastard?"

ROOT agents might be emotionless, but they still use plenty of expletives not meant for virgin ears.

"Gyaaaaaahaha, the boy has quite a mouth on him!"

"YOYOI, it is disgraceful to use such words!"

"Shut up both of you! Rob Lucci, I want you to step down."

"I won't."

"That wasn't a suggestion."

Once again, everything went quiet. Deathly quiet. What is these guys with quiet anyway?

Naruto stared at 'Rob Lucci'. The tall man wore a black top hat and had a white pigeon on his right shoulder. He had arched eyebrows and a small goatee. The power was radiating off the man.

Rob Lucci sent a kick and yet again Naruto dodged.

"Lucci, are you trying to kill him?"

Bull guy!

"I'm just testing him. Fukurou said that he is on par with Kaku."

"He is just an eight-year-old boy Lucci. Back off."

The pigeon guy smirked.

'That is seriously creepy. And I'm in ROOT.'

Rob Lucci didn't waste a second as he gave chase and sent multiple of attacks which just might kick Naruto's bucket if he isn't fast enough to avoid.

Naruto definitely took the hint and started running as if his life depended on it. Literally, it did.

'What's the bastard attacking me for? I did nothing wrong! Wait, maybe the blond ane-san's his girlfriend or something, and she's spending way too much time with me! So he's jealous!'

"Rankyaku!"

Naruto leaped and pushed himself off of the wall, just in time to avoid Lucci's fatal kick.

"Lariat!"

Naruto charged his arm with chakra and went in for the kill.

Lucci caught the him by the neck, nearly choking the life out of him.

"Suiton: Teppoudama!"

The blast of water knocked back Lucci and the man let go of Naruto's throat.

Naruto landed on all fours, coughing harshly.

The wet Rob Lucci attacked the downed Naruto with an elbow to his back.

With Naruto's back unguarded, he suffered the full brunt of the attack.

He flipped away from Lucci, still coughing.

"Kage Bunshin!"

A whole dozen of Naruto clones appeared.

One of the clones jumped and drop kicked Lucci while another clone tried to sweep Lucci off of his feet.

Lucci grabbed the leg of the clone drop-kicking him and used that clone as a hammer to bludgeon the other clone.

The remaining clones spread out and fired off a combo of Katon: Ryuuka and Fuuton: Kaze Tama which produced a huge, fiery dragon that encircled Rob Lucci.

'He doesn't even look worried! Danzo-sama would've been over the moon to have him as ROOT.'

"Impressive. I don't believe you are an Akuma no Mi user?"

'There it is again! Just what the hell is this Akuma no Mi?'

"Geppou."

To Naruto's shock, the man jumped and started walking on air away from the fiery mass. Rob Lucci landed a few feet away from Naruto.

"Shigan!"

'This attack! That Kalifa lady used it before! And it hurt like a bitch! No way am I going to get hit again!'

Naruto leaped back a few feet and landed in a crouch.

"Kaze no Yaiba!"

And the corridor exploded.

* * *

><p>"Blueno, stop him!"<p>

Geez, it's only been a day and a half and Kalifa's already getting attached?

"No."

"Why not? Lucci might kill the boy!"

"No. He wouldn't kill the boy on purpose. True, he wouldn't be pulling is punches, but if the boy's as good as Fukurou makes him out to be, he'll escape with a few more scratches."

"Are you kidding me? It's not easy patching him up! Fine, just a few small scratches, but if I don't treat them properly, they'll get infected!"

"Gyaaaaahaha. You're not getting attached are you, Kalifa?"

"Of course not! Little brats are a pain, certainly more than they are worth."

"Kalifa's blushing, chapapa!"

"Gyaaaaaahahaha!"

Enraged, Kalifa stormed out of the infirmary.

"Come on, we'd better stop Lucci."

"You just said a few moments ago that the boy will be fine, YOYOI!"

"True, but Lucci still might kill the boy. Let's go."

The remaining five members of CP9 set off to hunt down Rob Lucci and the boy, whose name they still did not know.

Further along the long corridor, they could hear the sounds of explosion and could see smoke billowing from somewhere further ahead.

'Rob Lucci might have had took things a little too far.'

With that thought in mind, the group of five rushed along the last stretch of corridor before arriving at the battle scene.

"Wow." All five of them chorused in unison.

The part of the hallway where they were duking it out was in shambles.

Both sides of the corridor has been blasted through. Rubble was strewn all over the floor. In Rob Lucci's corner, there were even several holes in the floor itself.

'Burn marks. I presume it was the fire technique from earlier. Now that I noticed it, what is he and what else can he do? What exactly did I pick up?'

Rob Lucci was spread-eagle on the floor, panting heavily. His pristine clothes now had several rips and tears, some of which had blood flowing from them. Hattori was perched upon a ledge a few feet above Lucci's head. The white pigeon was covered in soot and slightly worse for wear.

The blond gaki was for the second time since Blueno met the boy, face first in the ground. Slightly blackened from cinders and ashes, his bandages coming undone and apparently, totally unconscious.

"Kalifa is going to have a fit, chapapa."

"It's noooot like she can kill Lucci, YOYOI!"

"Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn. You never know, she might do it."

"Gyaaaaaahaha! We have the blond gaki to thank for all this drama!"

Blueno said nothing as he picked up the boy and made his way to the Infirmary, again.

"Fukurou, go call Kalifa."

The jovial Fukurou who had been laughing a few seconds ago, paled slightly.

"Kumadori, come with me."

The Kabuki actor meeped.

* * *

><p>"No, no, no! I do not want any of you in here! You too, Blueno! Get out, get out all of you! And for once, I am not afraid of you, Rob Lucci. If you do not get your blemish-free behind out of the Infirmary, I will willingly remove it for you."<p>

After realizing what exactly she had said to Lucci, she blushed a deep, tomato red. But she did not stand down and still pointed towards the door. Lucci just hned and left the Infirmary. He too knew that 'Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn.'

Kalifa exhaled. She sank into the plush white sofa in the Infirmary.

'Men. Can't live with them, can't live without.'

The boy in the bed stirred.

Within a blink of an eye, Kalifa was by the boy's bedside checking his vitals.

The boy cracked an eyelid open.

"Feeling better?"

The younger blond said nothing and turned away from her, facing the window that overlooked the edge of the CP9 training island.

'Now what?'

Kalifa poked the boy.

Nothing.

She poked him again.

Still nothing.

"I'll ask you again, brat. What's your name?"

The boy turned towards her slightly, eyebrows raised.

"Just tell me your name."

Kalifa felt like giving up. What is the problem with giving them his name? They just want to know what to call him.

The boy was silent, unmoving. Deep in thought perhaps? His eyes were closed.

"Hey, something wrong?"

The boy once again turned towards the window.

His eyes were still shut tight. Is he in pain?

Kalifa bent over him.

The younger blond suddenly sat upright on the bed.

Kalifa almost fell down.

"What do you want, gaki?"

The boy didn't say anything. He looked at her with those cerulean blue eyes of his and then rubbed at his stomach. Those eyes that are forever serious were silently pleading to her for food.

'Ah. It's been almost three days he's been here and he hasn't had anything to eat.'

"Stay there. I'll go get something for you."

Kalifa fast-walked towards the kitchen. She opened the fridge and grabbed some onigiri Kumadori made a few days ago. She also made a small pot of green tea. Balancing the tray of onigiri and green tea, she made her way to the Infirmary.

Kalifa was somehow expecting the Infirmary to be reduced to rubble in the few minutes she was gone.

She took a deep breath and stepped inside the Infirmary.

To her relief, it was still in one piece.

Kalifa set the tray on the bedside table and the boy nodded his thanks.

Kalifa felt her heart go all mushy. The blond brat with pretty blue eyes looked absolutely adorable with a smile on his face! If she could pinch his cheeks, she would have, but surely such a stoic boy wouldn't like that.

"So,would you like to tell me your name now?"

The boy arched an eyebrow at her halfway through his second onigiri.

"I'll take that as a no."

Seemingly satisfied with her answer, he concentrated on his food.

Kalifa sighed. Looks like she'll be sighing more than usual with the boy around.

AN: Tell me what you think.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and CP9 is property of Eiichiro Oda.

"Hey,"

Kalifa poked the boy lightly. He seemed asleep, but as an assassin with 5 years of experience under her non-existent belt, she knew better. His breathing wasn't as uniform as someone truly asleep. She could see the slight twitching of the boy's body, a very, very small twitch that would've been invisible to a mere civilian, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice.

"Hey gaki."

Kalifa poked him again.

No response.

"I know you're not asleep."

There! Kalifa could see his facial muscles moving somewhat. Kalifa poked him again. And again. And again.

'Wow, the gaki's really patient.'

Kalifa poked him, for the last time. She used a bit more force in her poke and coated it lightly with some Haki. The blonde immediately jolted upright. He might only be eight, but the boy's glare is on par with Rob Lucci's.

'How troublesome.'

Kalifa sighed. Why, oh why, did Blueno have to kidnap some random stray gaki from another dimension? What more a dimension where they apparently train kids from childbirth to be hired guns. Bloody idiot.

"Want some lunch?"

No point in being polite to the blonde gaki.

He muttered something under his breath, gave her another fatal glare before grudgingly taking the plate in Kalifa's outstretched hand, the chains around his hands clanking as he did so.

For a boy as young as he, he certainly wasn't picky about his food. Kalifa wondered, as she stared at the boy, what was the story behind those bright ocean blue eyes. It was unreal, totally unbelievable how a midget like him was somehow able to make the hallway explode. True, any of the Cipher Pol 9 members could make the hall explode, but not at the age of eight. Not only that, the eight-year had somehow managed to tire out Rob Lucci. At the age of eight.

Her mind was reeling from the pure ludicrousness of the whole incident.

The clink of plastic chopsticks against ceramic awoke Kalifa from her train of thoughts. Kalifa took the now empty plate from the bedside table and was about to leave the room but was stopped when she felt the boy tug on her sleeve.

Kalifa turned towards him, her eyebrows raised.

"Where's the guy?"

"What guy?"

Multiple questions raced through her mind.

"The guy with the pigeon."

"And what, may I ask, is your business with him?"

"It doesn't concern you."

"Whatever you say, brat."

Kalifa turned on her heels, plate in hand, and left the Infirmary.

'Oh great. I've lost my one chance to go out. Not only that, they decided to chain me to the bed!'

Naruto rattled the chain. The chain is of the sturdy type. Almost as tough as the alloys used to make ROOT issued kunais. It's only been a day and a half after his fight with pigeon guy, and his strength has yet to fully return.

His sensitive ears picked up heavy footfalls and his head turned to the doorway.

There stood the guy with horns. Blueno or something?

"Kalifa told me you were awake."

Blueno took a stool from the corner and sat on it, staring straight into the boy's eyes.

'A stare off? I can handle this.'

And so the big guy with horns and the small, injured blonde in bed glared and stared each other for quite a while.

Then came the fly.

There shouldn't be flies anywhere on the island. It was extremely well kept. No vermin, absolutely none, should exist on the island.

But there it was. It nestled somewhere in the boy's hair.

Blueno's right eyelid started twitching.

No! He will not lose to the gaki!

So they stared some more. And the fly started flying around.

'Stupid fly! It's making me lose my concentration! And I have no weapons to kill the fly!'

Splat!

Naruto blinked.

Both his hands were held in the position of someone praying and Naruto couldn't seem to find the fly anymore. Blueno noticed Naruto staring at his hands, he merely raised an eyebrow.

"Kalifa tells me you developed an interest in one of our members. Why?"

"Why would you want to know?"

"Though you are only eight years of age, you have the potential to fatally wound one of our agents. And yet still you ask me why?"

The boy bit his lips, hesitating.

"I, uh- well. I kinda think, that, hisfightingstyleisveryimpres siveandIwannalearnafewthings fromhim."

"All of us practice the same style. I can easily teach you myself."

"U-uh, he has better mastery of your style."

His comment was followed by an unnatural silence. The boy was red in the face to a certain extent.

"Tell me about yourself."

"That information is highly classi-"

"That wasn't a request, that was an order."

"I don't have to answer to you!"

"I practically have your little life in my hands. You do have to answer to me."

The stubborn blond mustered something under his breath and took to maintaining his silence.

Two can play at that game.

So Blueno sat on his stool, staring far off through the one window in the Infirmary.

Time passed.

The boy sighed.

"What kind of information do you need?"

Blueno studied the boy on the bed for a while. He was perfectly honest this time.

"Everything."

"Naruto. 8 years 7 months."

"What are your abilities? What can you do?"

"I am adept in hand-to-hand combat. I can do A-class ninjutsu and I am quite skilled with the sword. Anything else you would like to know?"

Blueno scrutinized the boy. Skilled with the sword? The boy's puny frame had no muscle usually associated with swordsmen. Hand-to-hand combat? Well, the boy did fight Rob Lucci to a standstill.

"Brat, how old are you really?"

"I'm 8 years and 7 months, I just said that!"

"At 8, all of us were still training. None of us could do what you did and what you can do at your age."

"Yeah so? That just means I'm way better than any of you."

"Brat, are you sure you did not eat any Akuma no Mi?"

"The Devil's Fruit? What is that fruit you guys keep talking about?"

"Answer the question boy. You have never eaten the Devil's Fruit?"

The boy sighed.

"No. No, I have not."

He seemed to want to say something else, but was hesitating.

"There is something else you wanted to say. Speak."

He shook his head.

"Alright. I shall leave you for today. Someone will send your meals. If I find you out of bed, the consequences will be dire."

"But-"

"You shall do as I say."

With that, Blueno stood up from the stool and walked out of the Infirmary without looking back. He could feel Naruto's eyes on the back of his head.

* * *

><p>"YOYOI! Blueno! What did the boy say?"<p>

"Hm."

"Chapapa. Come on Blueno, tell us."

"Later. When the whole team's around. I don't want to repeat it."

Both of them shared looks and shrugged.

Blueno surveyed the parlour. Kalifa was probably in her own room, doing girl things. Kumadori and Fukurou were the only ones around playing shogi. He knew Rob Lucci was on a mission to god knows where. As for Kaku and Jyabura, well, they're most likely off on missions as well.

After losing badly to Fukurou one time too many, Kumadori left the parlour, not in the best of moods. After some time, Fukurou decided to exit the parlour as well. The lounge looked spacier than the usual. Most of the normal occupants weren't around. It was kind of quiet, without the rest of the team. It was the nice kind of quiet.

Blueno made a cup of cappuccino for himself and dominated the most comfortable armchair in the common room with the daily news in hand.

Time went on its merry way as Blueno enjoyed his most peaceful alone time for the first time in years.

All of a sudden, the tranquility was broken by the screeching of metal against marble and the clanking of metal chains.

Blueno's senses immediately switched to high alert.

Naruto!

**AN: Writer's block. I apologize to those who have been waiting. Let me know what you think and if there's something you want to see in the story, mention it in the review and I'll consider it. Am running low on ideas.**


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